Park Ridge to again consider water source change

For the second time in three years, Park Ridge will consider whether to get most of its water from Evanston instead of Chicago.

The city on Monday was invited to join Niles and Morton Grove in pursuing water from Evanston — a move officials from the Vernon Hills-based civil engineering firm Gewalt Hamilton Associates say could save Park Ridge $125 million over 30 years once new water mains are tapped.

Geography is key to making this work, and "your location within the metropolitan area is tremendously important," Robert Hamilton, an attorney of counsel to Gewalt Hamilton, told the City Council in an overview of the pitch.

Aldermen will examine the proposal in detail next month in a meeting of the council's informal committee of the whole.

Park Ridge already is enduring water rate hikes from the 2005 rate of $1.33 per 1,000 gallons to $3.81 per 1,000 gallons by 2015.

Park Ridge uses an average of 4.34 million gallons of water daily, which means the city's annual water tab for Chicago water is already rising from $2 million to $6 million, he said.

Assuming a 2 percent annual increase in Chicago's water rate, that tab could reach $8 million by 2030, Hamilton added.

But joining Niles and Morton Grove to tap Evanston's water under a 30-year contract — one that remains to be determined — means Park Ridge would realize first-year savings of $1.3 million, even after debt repayments, he said.

Park Ridge could save $125 million over 30 years versus staying with Chicago, while Niles would save $118 million and Morton Grove $95 million, he added.

"The really strong case is the long term," Hamilton said. "We do really well in the first 20 years; we do tremendously better after the debt service (is paid)."

Any change from Chicago to another water source would affect only Park Ridge residents and businesses south of Dempster Street.

Areas north of Dempster get water from Glenview, which in turn gets water from Wilmette.

Park Ridge's contracts for Chicago water are set to expire between 2018 and 2020.

Niles asked Gewalt Hamilton to review a December 2012 water study that estimated costs of laying new water mains from Evanston to the northwest suburbs at $200 million to $430 million.

Park Ridge participated in that study, along with several other north and northwest suburbs, even chipping in $30,000 to help pay for it.

Patrick Glenn, a senior engineer at Gewalt Hamilton, said that study languished after its release.

Once Niles asked last year for a review of it, "we realized that Niles, Morton Grove and Park Ridge were natural partners.

"Generally, whatever was good for one of those communities would be good for the other two," Glenn said, adding that even with the variables inherent in a 30-year cost-benefit forecast, "there's a big increment there, and it's something that we think the communities should take advantage of."

Gewalt Hamilton will present its findings to the Niles Village Board on May 12 and to the Morton Grove Village Board on May 27, Glenn said.

"There are many, many questions and details to be sorted out," he said. "Niles and Morton Grove need to see some sort of sign from Park Ridge that they want to pursue this further."